


I Think I'm Still Turning Out

by allonsy_gabriel



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Accidental Parenting, Angus 'I Collect Parents Like Pokemon Cards' McDonald, Baked Beans, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Families of Choice, Fluff, Gen, Late Night Conversations, Love, Nightmares, Parent-Child Relationship, Post-Episode: e067-069 Story and Song Parts 1-3, Taako 'Oh Shit I Accidentally Adopted The Boy' Taaco, taako is angus' dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:08:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23332150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allonsy_gabriel/pseuds/allonsy_gabriel
Summary: Taako wakes up in the middle of the night to find Angus McDonald, Boy Genius and World’s Greatest Detective, standing at the kitchen counter and eating leftover baked beans in the dark.Or, The One Where Taako Figures Out He's A Parent (and Angus figures out just how much he's loved)
Relationships: Angus McDonald & Taako
Comments: 30
Kudos: 267





	I Think I'm Still Turning Out

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this in twenty minutes  
> these boys really be doing wonders to my muse

Taako wakes up in the middle of the night to find Angus McDonald, Boy Genius and World’s Greatest Detective, standing at the kitchen counter and eating leftover baked beans in the dark.

Which, uh, what? Taako does a double-take as his brain politely asks him to, um,  _ run that one by him again, chief _ , _ because that’s some buck-wild shit _ .

So Taako takes a closer look and—yup. There he is, everyone’s favourite magic boy, just, like, going to  _ town  _ on some beans.

It’s—okay. Yeah. Cool. That—that fucking tracks, Taako guesses, like—fuck yeah, beans are good,  _ Taako’s _ beans are rad as hell, kid’s got good taste, except—

“Uh, you alright there, Agnes?” Taako asks because he’s not, like, a child expert, but he’s pretty sure they’re not supposed to be awake at—what time is it? Like three a.m.? Shit, yeah, okay, the kid’s  _ defo _ not supposed to be awake right now, and also the fact that the lights are off is kinda—that’s a red flag.

And Angus turns to face him, and his eyes are big and wide and shiny with—there are tears in his eyes, and his nose is a little snotty, and—

Shit, Taako’s, like, responsible for this kid, right? He’s this nerd’s emergency contact at school or whatever, and Angus comes to his house during breaks—which is why he’s, like, currently eating beans in  _ Taako’s _ kitchen and not, like,  _ Magnus’ _ —which means Taako’s, like—

_ Fuck _ .

Taako’s, like, this kid’s parent, isn’t he?

He’s—Angus is  _ his fucking kid _ , and he’s realising it now, as he watches this small child cry while shovelling just  _ incomprehensible  _ amounts of baked beans in his mouth.

That’s actually—

That’s actually pretty on brand, so Taako figures—he guesses he’ll allow it.

“Taako? What are—did I wake you, sir? I’m so sorry, I was trying to be quiet, I’ll go back to bed—”

“Ango. Agnes. D’Jangus Unchained. Kid. Cool it,” Taako says, and he’s mostly just—he’s kinda just staring at the kid because like, what the fuck is he supposed to  _ do _ ? He doesn’t know how to parent! He doesn’t know how to handle children! He doesn’t even know how to handle full-grown people, really, so, uh, what the  _ fuck _ is the protocol, here?

“Sorry, sir,” Angus says, and he stares down at the floor, his hands twisting nervously in front of him, and it’s—it’s actually pretty pitiful, and Taako feels something twist up in his chest and—

Yeah, okay. 

Taako sighs and he, like, rubs his forehead, but he goes and he puts an arm around Angus and he says, “What’s got your panties all twisted, little man?”

Angus looks up at him, and his eyes are still wet. “It’s nothing, sir,” he says. “I’ll—I’m fine. No need to worry.”

And yeah, okay, maybe it’s just his fucking  _ renegade spirit _ , but count Taako as  _ pretty fucking worried, actually, as it turns out _ .

“Out with it, bubbeleh.”

“It’s just—it’s stupid, really, and I wouldn’t want to bother you—”

“ _ Angus _ .”

And Angus looks down at his hands again, and he mutters, “It’s just nightmares, sir.”

Okay, so, like, here’s the deal—

Taako knows about nightmares. He’s well-versed. Fucking  _ fluent _ , actually, so like—

He kneels down, right? He gets down so that he’s looking Angus in the eye and he says, “You wanna talk about it or no?”

And Angus is quiet, for a minute, and Taako can see as he thinks it over. He actually—he actually bites his lower lip, and Taako can see that he’s missing one of his front teeth, and he’s reminded again of just how  _ young  _ this kid is, and—

“You all left, sir,” he whispers, and it’s so quiet Taako can barely hear it.

“Come again?”

“You all left. When—when the Hunger came, you all just—you got on your ship and you—you all  _ left _ , except it wasn’t just the seven of you, it was you guys and Cary and Killian and Avi and Mavis and Mookie and Mr. Kravitz and—and you all just  _ left _ , and it was just  _ me _ ,  _ alone _ , and I’m pretty good at wizardly magicks for a kid, sir, but I’m still just a little boy and—”

Angus is shaking, now, and the tears are flowing more steadily and he looks so  _ scared _ .

And Taako knows, sort of, what he needs to do.

So he pulls Angus in closer—he, like, presses the kid’s face into his shoulder like he sees parents do in those fantasy-coming-of-age movies, and he says—he says, “Angus, kiddo, I would  _ never  _ leave you alone.”

“But—”

“Nope. Nuh-uh. Grown-up talking, little boy hushing, capiche?”

And Angus nods, so Taako continues, “Look, kid, when I was—well, not when I was your age because I’m, like, an elf and a bajillion years old and I’m pretty sure I was still, like, a toddler at your age—”

Angus interrupts and says, “Actually, sir, physically elves reach maturity at about the same time as humans, so—”

“Hey. Hey. I’m still—listen, okay, this is, like, heart-warming character-development-ing stuff, pay attention, okay?”

Angus nods again.

“Alright, okay, where—where was I? Oh yes. When I was… young, relatively, approximately, whatever, when I was  _ in my youth _ , Lup and I—we didn’t have anyone else, okay? It was just the two of us, and that was—that was  _ fine _ , mostly, because I had her and she had me and that’s all—that’s all we needed, really, but it  _ was _ hard. And it sucked. Look at me, Angus. Angus? It sucked  _ major  _ ass. Just, the  _ most  _ ass. Like a vacuum cleaner in a meadow full of ass, that’s—that’s the scenario we’re looking at, here. You got that?”

Angus looks up at Taako and he says, “Yes, sir, but I don’t—I don’t see what that has to do with—”

“It sucked  _ so much ass _ , and I—Angus, I know what it’s like, being alone. Not having anyone around, not having anyone you can—you can rely on. I had Lup, yeah, but then—then Lup was gone, and Lucretia—she did her, uh,  _ thing _ , and I—point is, I know what that’s like, and I want you to know that you will never,  _ ever _ have to go through that. Not ever.”

Angus blinks up at him, and the tears are still coming, but they seem to be a different  _ kind  _ of tear because the kid is smiling, now, and then he flings his arms around Taako’s neck.

“I love you, Taako,” he whispers into the fabric of Taako’s robe, and Taako—

He smiles, and he runs his hand through the kid’s hair, and he presses a kiss to the kid’s forehead, and he mutters, “Yeah, kiddo. I love you too.”

And they stay there, in the kitchen, in the dark, on the floor, with a half-eaten plate of baked beans on the counter above them, until Taako hears Angus’ breathing even out. Then he hoists the boy up in his arms and carries him back to the room he shares with Kravitz. He places Angus on the bed, careful to remove his glasses and place them on the bedside table before crawling into bed beside him.

He wraps the kid up in his arms and follows him off to sleep.

Neither of them has any more nightmares that night.

**Author's Note:**

> lemme know what you think!


End file.
